Preserving the Light
by The Loneliest Wanderer
Summary: Bryce and his brother Anders are stuck in Harran during the outbreak, and now have to try to survive dealing with the dead, the living, and the darkness inside themselves.
1. Chapter 1

**Preserving the Light**

"I told you this was a bad idea." Anders said.

"I know, shut up." Bryce replied.

"I just had to let you talk me into this." Anders complained again, this time adding hand gestures to emphasize his disappointment.

"Yeah, I get it, I screwed up. You can chew me out when we get back to the Tower in one piece, kay?"

Anders shot him a glare. "Fine. Got another genius plan to get us out of this one?"

The sun had set an hour ago. The pair had went out on a run to recover an antizin crate when some of Rais' men ambushed them. They were fine, but the noise attracted a group of virals, and the ensuing chase led them too far from the Tower to get back before night. They'd certainly tried, but just couldn't do it.

"Still got your uv light?" Bryce asked his partner.

"Yeah, of course. Don't you?"

Bryce rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the floor.

"Are you serious?" Anders seemed surprised, but he'd been used to things like this for the past twenty-one years. Ever since Bryce was born he'd found a way to lose or break anything that was given to him.

"It fell outta my pocket, cut me some slack!" Anders pressed his hand over Bryce's mouth.

"Shut. Up. Too loud. We don't know how close those things are. No need to draw them any closer."

Bryce's joyful eyes narrowed into determination and he nodded. Anders carefully removed his hand. The duo had their backs pressed to the waist high wall on a building's balcony. They could see the Tower off in the distance. A five minute run from where they were now. Only problem was the volatiles. Bryce peeked his head over the wall and sure enough halfway down the street a volatile was prowling. It climbed on top of a car and let out a howl. Its head was turned toward the sky but then snapped downward. The two made eye contact. Bright orange to dark green. Bryce dropped back behind his cover.

"Please tell me it didn't see you." Anders asked. Bryce didn't answer. "Bryce?..."

Bryce turned his head to face Anders.

"We should run."

Footsteps pounded toward their temporary sanctuary. Anders drew his uv light and aimed it at the wall. As soon as the volatile appeared over it Anders turned the light on. The creature raised its hands to shield its face and fell back to the road. "Lets go!" Anders shouted as he leapt off the balcony with Bryce behind me. The two took off at a breakneck sprint, weaving in and out of the abandoned cars that dotted the street. They passed a few infected, but they were too slow to stand a chance against the runners.

Bryce found himself with a smile on his face. Despite the fact that he could lose his life at any given second, he was never happier than when he was running, especially with his brother at his side. He looked to his right and Anders was there, although he looked considerably more worried than Bryce. And then, Bryce collided straight into a zombie.

Bryce fell on top of the creature, and the two fumbled on the ground together. Bryce tried to plant his hands on the street to get back to his feet, but the feeling of rotting hands clinging to his forearms made it difficult. The monster reared its head back and as it was going to chomp forward, it was interrupted by a foot to the face. Anders stood over Bryce and offered a hand, which he gratefully took. They cast a glance back the way they came, only to be rewarded with an image of the volatile from before still coming with others behind it.

"Oh goodie. He's brought friends." Bryce muttered.

Anders punched him in the shoulder. "Shut up and run." He took off again and Bryce followed, a little more serious about it this time.

They burst into the parking lot in front of the Tower and their heads immediately shot to the entrance, and the uv light hanging above the doorway. They summoned their last bit of strength for the home stretch and barreled up the stairs.

They climbed up the wall into the area that had become their sanctuary and breathed sigh of relief in unison.

"I told you we'd be fine." Bryce told his brother through ragged breaths.

"You know that I hate you, right?"

"What would you do without me, bro?" Bryce asked with his trademark grin surfacing.

The question hit Anders harder than he expected. What would he do? Bryce had always been there, no matter what. Through good and bad. They'd each bailed each other of some pretty crazy situations pre-apocalypse and after. Before he could answer, Bryce spoke up again.

"I'm beat. Nearly dying takes a lot out of you, so I'm heading to the room. Night, man." Bryce clapped a hand on Anders' shoulder before jumping in the elevator that led to the upper floors.

As Bryce disappeared to the upper levels, Anders took a seat near the wall and tried to catch his breath. As he was resting, a man in a bright yellow t-shirt came in. He was nearly the spitting image of Brecken, save for a few differences in the face.

"Anders!" He said with a smile.

Anders offered a weak wave. "Crane. What were you doing out there?"

Crane sat down next to him. "Antizin drop of my own, but I didn't have any luck. How about yours?"

Anders just shook his head.

"Ah. I'm sorry to hear it. Hey," he looked around the room. "Where's your brother?"

"Upstairs. We had a close call just before. He went straight to bed."

"Yeah, I don't blame him." Crane stood and looked out the window. "City's so damn dangerous, but gorgeous too." Anders stood and gazed with him.

The moonlight refracted off the deep blue ocean's surface. The corrugated sheet metal rooftops shone with pale blue light. The lights of the Infamy bridge acted like beacons of hope, or despair. When the bridge blew, it became a symbol of hopelessness. The way out of the city was gone. But in the dim light of the evening, it was beautiful.

"Yeah. It really is." Was all Anders could say. The view staggered him.

"All right, I'm pretty tired myself. I'll see you tomorrow, Anders."

"Yeah..." Anders said. His eyes were still locked on the horizon. Nothing else seemed to matter but that. Then, the howl of a volatile broke the silence. And just like that, he was on edge again. Anders shook his head. "Nothing good can last in this damn city." He muttered to himself as he headed off to bed.

Bryce stepped out of the elevator with aches everywhere. He spent the whole day running, and he was very happy with it, but his body hated him for it. It was his favorite kind of sore though. The kind that leaves you feeling satisfied afterward.

On his way back to his room, something caught his eye. A group of people were standing outside a room. Bryce approached them with a, "Hey guys, what's going on?"

One of the men told him that they thought one of their own had turned and they sent Nicole in to see. _Nicole? Of course. _Bryce was going to step into the room, when Nicole herself stepped out.

"Oh, hey Bryce. What are you doing here?" She asked with a smile that Bryce couldn't tell if it was genuine or not. Her dark brown hair hung down to her back and contained a streak of blue on her left side. Her eyes were a a shade of gray that Bryce found oh so appealing. A small scar resided on her right cheek, the only blemish he could find on her otherwise flawless face. Bryce always looked forward to seeing her, flirting with her, and getting horribly rejected by her.

"Wanted to see what got everybody so riled up, and now I understand. And I do not blame them." He said with a grin.

"You're still trying?" She asked with a grin of her own.

"Mhm. You'll love me eventually."

"In your dreams." She said as she walked away with a dismissive hand wave.

"What happened in there anyway?" He asked as he followed her. His body screamed at him for rest, but he pushed through the aching in his limbs.

"Bad antizin. Stuff almost killed him."

"Are you kidding? Jesus. The world's coming to an end and people are still selfish enough to rip each other off." Bryce said. Jane just nodded.

"I'm telling Lena tonight, and setting out to take care of it tomorrow." She looked him up and down. "You should come with me."

_Did she actually just invite me to go with her? The hell is this? _"Nicole, you feeling all right? You just invited me work with you. You're aware of that, right?"

A small smile graced her lips, and the sight made Bryce want to smile too. "If it's humans we're going against I'd rather not be alone. Why don't you bring your brother along too? Strength in numbers."

_Damn it._ "Yeah, sure. I get that. I'll tell him tomorrow."

"Great. I'll meet you tomorrow at ten." And with that, she turned and left to find the doctor. Bryce shook his head as he headed off to bed.

Bryce woke the next day at around eight-thirty. He walked into the bathroom of his small apartment and began his morning ritual. First he attempted to tame his unruly head of short brown hair before giving up and letting it stay messy. Then, he changed into fresh clothes, which today was a black tank top and cargo shorts. He always wore a pair of tough gloves with the fingers cut off to aid in his climbing. He rolled his shoulders and flexed. His arms weren't huge, but they were defined and fit his body. He was proud of them. He hopped in the elevator with a smile on his face.

Anders woke up less gracefully, but earlier. He was already awake when Bryce was coming down the elevator shaft. He stood in a short sleeve flannel unbuttoned with his undershirt showing and a pair of jeans. His dark brown hair was neatly spiked in the front. His eyes were the same green as Bryce's but held something different in them. Bryce's contained joy and enthusiasm, while Anders' were filled with intensity and worry.

Anders was holding a conversation with the quartermaster when his brother came through the elevator door. He greeted Anders with a fist bump, as he normally did.

"Got any plans for today?" He asked as he took a seat on the quartermaster's desk.

"You know that's not for your ass, right?" He asked with an annoyed tone, but his face didn't show any anger. Bryce was pretty sure that his antics helped him get through the day. If he'd been stuck behind a desk all day, every day, he'd be looking for something to amuse him too.

"Not really, what about you?" Anders asked him back.

"I'm helping Nicole out with something, was wondering if you'd like to come along."

"Nicole? I thought she hated you." The quartermaster burst out laughing.

"Oh yeah, because you know a lot about women hating you, right?" Bryce said to the man behind the desk, who quickly shut his mouth. He turned back to his sibling. "Some assholes are running a bootleg antizin operation. Nicole's doing her investigator thing, we're gonna meet at ten if you're interested."

Anders hesitated on his answer. He had no problem dealing with zombies, he'd done it enough, but humans? He hated it. He hadn't done it yet. Bryce did it once, to save him in fact. And it shook him, but he was his old self soon enough. _Could I forgive myself that easily? _He'd have to. His brother needs him. "Yeah. You can count on me."

"Beautiful. I'll see you then." Bryce took the hatchet that the quartermaster had for him and dropped down the hole out into the slums.

He emerged into the light with a smile. He bounced on the balls of his feet a few times before beginning a jog around the tower. He lapped around it twice before taking one of the runner installed ramps to the rooftops. His jog turned into a sprint as he used the speed to clear gaps between buildings. He was free again, with no master but the wind. His body was built for this, and he was at home in this blazing speed.

He hit a particularly large clearing and propelled his body off the edge without a second thought, and then he realized he had no clear destination in mind. He slammed into the concrete side of a wall, his hands groping for a hold to keep himself off the ground. His fingers caught in the metal bars on the outside of a window, but he was dazed from the impact. As stars danced in his vision, his grip began to loosen. He had enough time to mutter an "Oh, shit." Before he fell to the ground.

He landed flat on his back in the dirt. He felt his breath fly out of him and he was left gasping. He fought to raise himself to a knee with shaky limbs. "God damn it, that hurt." He said in a hoarse whisper. A moan from his right instantly snapped him to alertness. A woman was shambling toward him, her dress tattered and torn. Her eyes were focused on him, and made him uncomfortable. He stood and drew the hatchet from the belt loop of his shorts. He twirled it in his hand before attacking the creature.

Moments later Bryce sat with his back to the wall that now bore an indent of his torso with a decapitated corpse a few feet away from him. The head rolled away, he didn't keep track of it. The sight of it made him sick to his stomach. This world had hardened him, surely, but seeing a severed head leave a trail of red as it rolled to God knows where could get to anyone. He was catching his breath, which was more difficult than he expected. He cast a glance to his watch to see that it was nine-thirty. He should get back to the Tower.

So, he wearily stood, and once he was back on the rooftops he took it easy. Only really running when he needed to. Otherwise he was trying to recover what stamina he had to prepare for going out with Nicole.


	2. Chapter 2

**Preserving the Light**

**Chapter Two**

**Welcome to chapter 2, I really just wanted to say thank you to both, AyanneCZ, and .9 for reviewing. Seriously, thank you. Made my day. Also going to apologize for the length of these, normally i write much longer things, but my muse has been painfully silent recently. But, without further ado, the story.  
**

Bryce made it back to the Tower with ten minutes until ten. He wandered in with tired limbs. He hadn't anticipated hurting himself as he did, and he hoped he could keep up with the others. He met Anders on the bottom floor.

"Hey, you all right, man?" Anders asked him. Bryce threw an arm around Anders' shoulder for support.

"Yeah. I'm all right. Took a bit of a spill," he gestured to his body, which was decorated with a few scraps and scratches, "but I'm okay." He gave his brother a smile.

After this exchange, Nicole came down the elevator. "Gentlemen." She said as she walked past. "You coming?" She grabbed a machete off the quartermaster's desk and was down the hole and out the building in one smooth motion.

"Where are we going?" Anders called to her.

"Just follow me!" Her voice came back through the hall.

"We should go." Anders said with a slight grin as he followed her out, and Bryce after him.

The trio dashed across the rooftops, Nicole led the way with Anders behind her. Bryce brought up the rear. The all paused on a rooftop to catch their breath.

"How much farther?" Bryce asked in between deep breaths.

Nicole just raised an arm and pointed. A small fenced in building sat across the street. A man stood on the balcony watching the infected in the street. He hadn't noticed them yet.

"Okay, so what's our plan?" Bryce asked to the group.

"I'll go in first. Try talking. If that doesn't work, then you two make your appearance." Anders said.

"You serious? I don't want you going in there alone." Bryce told him.

"Relax, Bryce. We'll be right there to have his back." Jane assured him.

"It's my turn to have a stupid plan." Anders told his brother with a small smile.

"If you die I'll kill you." Bryce said as a smile grew on his face, matching his brother's.

Nicole's hands expertly worked behind her head, tying her hair into a ponytail. "You ready?" She asked them.

Bryce sighed. "I guess." Anders just nodded. He turned and made his way down from the rooftop and to the street. He landed in a clearing in the undead on the hot pavement. He approached the fence with his arms raised. "Hey, I'm looking for Antizin." He called to the watcher. "I was told that this is where to get it."

"You heard right. Come on in." He shouted back. Anders nodded and hopped the fence inside.

"I don't like this." Bryce told Nicole from their position in the brush behind the fence. There was a breach in the barbed wire lining the top of the fence, so that was their way in.

"Relax. Have some faith in your brother. Trust him." Nicole said.

"Oh no, I trust him. I don't trust these assholes." Bryce peeked his head out of the bush to look towards the building. He counted around five men. The watcher, one to his right, two to his left, and one standing in the garage. Then, Anders walked in.

He walked straight up to the one in the garage. They spoke, and Bryce assumed that he was the one in charge. The leader's face wore a mask of happiness, and he smiled at Anders. Bryce wished he could read lips better. The boss turned around and dug through a crate behind him before turning around with a small vial in his hand. He gave it to Anders, who inspected it closely. He said something, and then dropped it on the floor, and swung his right hand at the leader's face.

"That's our cue, move!" Bryce shouted as he was up and over the fence in an instant. He drew his hatchet and buried it in the man to the right's chest before he could react. The two from the left noticed them now, and they charged each other.

Bryce dodged one of their attacks with a hammer, and swung in retaliation, scoring a glancing strike on his leg. Nicole took the other, allowing him to focus on the duel before him. Bryce swung again, and whiffed, leaving himself open to the man's backhand. He stumbled backward, before striking again with a shout, which the man sidestepped and delivered a knee into Bryce's stomach. He fell to the floor, and the man stood over him. Bryce could see his reflection in the man's gas mask. He raised his hammer and it vanished in the sunlight. Bryce squinted, and before the hammer could connect, he raised a leg and kicked the man in the groin. He fell, clutching at his crotch. Bryce got to a knee overlooking the man. With a look that said, "I'm sorry," he slit the man's throat with his hatchet.

Nicole had dispatched her man easily and moved to the watcher. They met on the balcony where he provided lookout on the street .He charged her with a machete of his own, and the steel clashed. Again and again. Nicole searched for a weakness, but he didn't seem to have one. But then, she saw her opening. He stepped a little too far on a strike, and Nicole dodged in the perfect position to allow herself a counter attack. She grabbed the man's wrist with one hand and a handful of his shirt with the other, her weapon clanging on the concrete, and with one swift motion she tossed him over the wall of the balcony. He landed on the street with the walkers. Dazed from the impact, he was powerless to defend himself. The crowd descended on him without remorse.

Screams and moans echoed through the city, and resounded through every living human's body. No matter who that man was, he didn't deserve this fate. Nicole felt tears well up in her eyes, but beat them back. "No weakness. No emotion." She told herself. She snatched her machete up and went to rejoin the brothers.

Inside the garage, Anders held the leader at knife point. He had disarmed the man and now pressed the blade to his throat. His back was to the wall. "Why?" Anders demanded.

"Why, why what?" He replied with a shaking voice.

"Why would you rip off other people and almost fucking kill them? The city's tearing itself apart, and you're poisoning people?"

"We needed the money for when we get out of here. It was our plan, our insurance."

"You're fucking despicable." Anders spat at him. His fist lashed out and knocked the man to the ground. "Go. But if I ever hear about you peddling your bullshit Antizin again, you can be sure I'll come back." The man nodded and sprinted off. Anders sighed. "God damn it." He pinched the bridge of his nose.

Bryce entered the room with him. "Hey," he put a hand on his shoulder. "We did good today."

Anders looked out at the corpses scattered around the courtyard they were in front of. "Did we?" He began to walk again, but Bryce held him back.

"Yeah. We did. I know it's awful, I didn't want to do it either, but we saved lives today through this. Just remember that."

"Yeah. I'll try. I'm going back to the Tower. You coming?"

"Soon. I'm going to enjoy the rest of the day. Try to make it a good one."

Anders nodded. "Stay safe."

"Yeah, you too." And then he was over the fence, running along the tops of the building's. Bryce climbed to the top of the building he was in with his legs dangling off the edge. They floated and swung in the gentle breeze. Nicole came and sat down next to him.

"Nice job out there today." She told him.

"Wow, a compliment? You sure you didn't get hit in the head?"

She chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure. But in all seriousness, you did good. You stepped up when we needed it. You made a difference."

He shrugged. "It needed to be done. And now we helped out some people. It was a good day." He looked down at the blood that had dried on his wrist. "I just wish it didn't have to come to this."

"I know. Trust me. I never imagined I'd have what it takes."

"This world doesn't give you a chance. If you don't have what it takes, you won't make it. As harsh and cruel as that is, it's the new law around here."

Nicole just nodded. "I think I liked you better when you were flirting with me instead of being dark."

Bryce laughed and a genuine smiled touched his features. "Sorry, I'll get back to that."

"Gonna have to wait, Lover Boy, I'm headed back too. I'll see you then."

"Yeah. Until then." He waved goodbye to her and watched her disappear over the rooftops into the sun.


	3. Chapter 3

**Preserving the Light**

**Chapter 3**

The sun sat high in the sky, illuminating the city. Undead shuffled in the streets, perpetually searching for a meal. Some were lucky enough to find something, just another stepping stone in their journey of insatiable hunger.

Bryce stood on a rooftop overlooking one such occurrence. A group of three biters were preying on a fallen survivor's body. The sight nauseated him, and he had to fight back the urge to vomit. He felt his hands clench into fists. His right hand opened and went to the weapon at his hip, but froze as his fingers grazed the handle. "No. They're not worth it. There's no reason to do this." He let his eyes linger on the fatal scene before him, before turning his back on them.

Bryce made his way west of the Tower, toward Rais' territory. He leapt from building to building with a practiced agility that comes from doing this for a long time. Bryce and Anders were Brecken's students before all this happened. They came to Harran to help him with whatever they could. Bryce had planned on staying, Anders only had a month before he had to go back to school.

Their parents hadn't been in the picture for a while. They kept in touch with Anders, but Bryce was ignored. They didn't like the path he was taking, so they pretended he didn't exist. They were proud of the academic, but not of the one that was doing what he loved. _When I have kids I'll-_ He thought, but stopped himself. _I have to make it out of here first._ The latter thought sobered him up and snapped him back to reality. He could very easily not make it out of Harran. That was very real prospect.

He paused his sprint as he came to what seemed to be a backyard. A rusted swing set sat in the dust, its lone swing swaying with a phantom child. An open door in the ground floor of the building in front of him caught his eye. The thought of supplies enticed him to head to the ground.

He dropped from the roof and landed in a roll. He stood and attempted to brush the dirt off his back, but he couldn't reach. He gave up and allowed his hands to fall to his side, where his fingers wrapped around the handle of the weapon.

He pulled it out of the sheath and tossed it in the air before catching it and twirling it. "Bonus points for style," he whispered to himself before proceeding toward the open door. He stepped in cautiously, making note of the blood that had dried on the tile floor. His footsteps were the only sound in his ears, setting him on edge.

The building was a store, as a counter sat in the center of the room. A cash register on top of it, mocking Bryce with its memories of a past time. He approached it and jammed the handle of his hatched down on the button to eject the tray. It opened with an overly enthusiastic, "ding!" As if in response, a moan sounded from the upper level. Bryce's eyes instantly darted to the old wooden staircase.

Tentatively, he approached the stairs. His eyes moving up the steps until they reached the top and saw the perpetrator of the noise. A man stood there, his dark skin stained with blood from a past meal most likely. Its head lazily drifted down toward where Bryce stood. He lifted his free hand and waved at the creature, a small smile playing on his lips. He had seen this before, and was looking forward to what came next.

The zombie started toward him with its arms outstretched, but wasn't prepared for the sudden steepness of the steps. Its right foot hovered above where the first step was, and missed. It flopped forward and landed on its face, tumbling down the rest of the stairs. Bryce stepped to the side and allowed it to land where he was standing not a moment ago.

The creature's body lay contorted on the floor with limbs bent at odd angles. Despite the grievous injury it just endured, it kept reaching for Bryce, although it was significantly weaker. It seemed like it was almost too difficult to raise its arm toward his legs, and its hand dropped onto Bryce's tattered sneaker. What remained of its nails worked to claw through the material to no avail.

"Persistent son of a gun, aren't you?" Bryce asked him as he raised his hatchet and buried it into the creature's skull. He moved upstairs with no issue and checked the next floor, which was clear. He continued to scavenge the building, which yielded a fairly petty haul. He did however, manage to find some alcohol and gauze, which could be useful, should he need a stiff drink or a bottle o' napalm. He tied the bottle to his belt and put the gauze in a back pocket with his lighter. The top floor had a ladder which led to the roof, so Bryce climbed up and emerged into the sunlight.

Another building caught his eye, this time, a music store. It sat across the street from where he now stood, with a few zombies aimlessly pacing the road in between them. He let out an, "I wonder..." before he was off on a run to the other side.

He leapt off the roof and landed on one zombie, bringing his ax down on its head as he impacted. He stood and faced the couple approaching him. His eyes narrowed, and his face formed a mask of determination. As the biters shuffled closer, their mouths agape, brandishing bloodstained teeth, one word escaped his lips.

"Nope."

Bryce broke into a sprint and ran to his left, hopping over the hood of a car. The undead walked right into the barrier that he now placed between them and their meal. With a laugh, he leapt up to a low hanging awning and pulled himself up. He stood on a tan stone balcony, which held a red door. The contrast was somewhat jarring, but Bryce didn't think too much about it. He tried the handle, but it resisted. It was locked. "Aw, how cute. They think they can keep me out." He said with a grin. His hand slid into another pocket in his shorts and drew a small piece of metal from it. It was a thin, straight line that suddenly curved into a right angle. A lockpick.

He inserted the pick with a practiced ease that he was, but probably shouldn't be, proud of. He adjusted the position of the pick, sliding it to the left when, it turned and opened with a satisfying 'click' His smirk grew, and he stood up. His hand reached for the door, when it burst open. Bryce flew back, and fell on his ass. Two biters shambled out of the open door toward him. "Shit. Shit. Shit." He muttered as he attempted to get to his feet, and failed. As they got near, one fell on top of him.

Bryce raised a leg, and held the creature there, as one would a child. The other fell next to it, being propped up by Bryce's left hand; his weak hand. The creature's jaws snapped at Bryce, and he turned his head away from it. Saliva flew from its gaping maw and onto Bryce's cheek. The urge to vomit overwhelmed him.

"Fuck. Off!" He shouted as he threw his leg toward his head, sending the creature over the edge of the building. The two locked eyes as he passed over the human. A crunch signified that it had hit the ground. Bryce turned his attention to the remaining beast still being held back by his hand. His arm was beginning to shake and the creature took advantage of that, seeming to be revitalized by a sudden boost of energy. Bryce dropped it and quickly rolled to his right, letting the zombie's face get well acquainted with the ground.

The undead rolled onto its back and look at its failed meal with desperate eyes. "Nice try." Bryce told it. "But not today." The last thing it saw was his sneaker falling toward his face.

Bryce entered into the upper level of the building. His now bloodstained shoes fell silently on the cheap carpet that covered the floor. After his last encounter of the undead variety, he was more careful in how he approached the interior of the building. His hatchet was held in hand, tight as he could bear. He spotted a set of stairs off to his left, and another room to his left. A quick check revealed the room to be the bedroom. To his dismay, it didn't hold anything good, so he moved on to the stairs.

The stairs creaked under each of his steps, and a hushed curse escaped with each one. Finally, after a painstakingly long descent, he arrived at the lower floor. The walls were a pale blue color and dotted with pegs for holding instruments. A large drum sat in the corner, kicked onto its side. Pieces of splintered wood sat on the floor next to an unmoving body. Bryce crept closer to it and gently nudged it with his foot.

It didn't move.

Bryce audibly exhaled. He looked around the rest of the building, not finding anything else of value. But then he stumbled onto a locked door in the back. Naturally, he wanted to know what was on the other side, so he pulled out his lockpick again. He inserted it into the lock and wiggled it around, trying to find the sweet spot.

He didn't. The pick snapped in his hand and broke off inside the lock. "Sonofa" he muttered. He stood and turned back to the room he was standing in. _A key maybe? That's how these things work in video games at least._ His first inclination was the desk, so he made his way over to that. His eyes inspected every inch of the surface of it, tracing the lines ingrained in the wood. He scrounged around inside the various drawers, sending papers and office supplies flying. He gave up and hopped on top of the desk. His elbows rested on his legs and help up his head. He let out a sigh when his eyes fell upon the body in the center of the room. He raised an eyebrow.

He crept closer to the body. He kicked it before, but he still didn't trust the thing. He'd learned to not trust anything or anyone out here. He drew his hatchet and poked its leg with the head of the weapon. Nothing. He took another step when it whipped around with arms outstretched. Bryce raised the tool to block and felt it get knocked out of his hands. He was on his back again with the creature on top of him. Just like a few minutes ago. He had let them get the better of him again. His right hand closed around the undead's throat to keep it away. He steadily lifted it higher and higher, creating distance from him and those blackened teeth. With a final boost of strength he threw the creature into the air and off to his left. Bryce got to his feet and, in a panic, searched for the first thing he could use as a weapon. In this case, the cash register.

Bryce approached the zombie lying on its back with the heavy metal container cradled in his arms. He lifted it over his head as he stared at the thing that was once human, and he felt a pang of pity hit him. His will faltered, and he almost put the register down.

Almost.

The hunk of a metal came down on the zombie's face, crushing the rotting flesh and bone with ease. Red flew out in a starburst pattern around where its head used to be. The register looked like the sun in a child's drawing, with red rays of light around it. There were chunks of red... something on Bryce's shoes. He shook his legs with disgust. Hanging off of the now **very** dead zombie's hip was a key ring with only one key on it. Bryce questioned the necessity of the ring, but moved on. The key fit the lock perfectly and what he saw inside almost brought a tear to his eye.

Anders' journey back to the Tower held no excitement. He made it back without an encounters of the undead kind, but they weren't really the problem anymore and he knew it. People were. The zombie's were dumb. And only wanted one thing. But the people?... You couldn't tell what they wanted. They could be your savior, or your demise. They were smarter and stronger than the undead inhabitants of the city. And Anders didn't know if he could bring himself to kill one of them.

Anders made his unceremonious return and headed straight to the elevator. To the upper levels. He walked the decrepit halls straight to headquarters to check in with Brecken. Anders was known around here, so he had a say in leading the place. He served as an adviser to Brecken, similar to how Jade did. He walked in and Brecken was standing in front of a large window. He just seemed to be watching the city.

"Brecken? You okay?" Anders asked as he approached.

"Hmm?" He turned around. "Oh. Yeah. I'm fine. Just thinking."

Anders nodded. "Anything good?"

Brecken responded with a somber smile. "Is there anything good left in this city?"

"There can be. We just have to make it. Out there?" He raised a finger and pointed toward the rest of the city. "Maybe not. But in here? We have a community. Family. Friends. We have good in here."

"You're right. But we might not have it for much longer."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know what to do about Rais. Every day his men get closer and closer to us here. They're soldiers. What do we have here? A bunch of scared civilians." He paused and swallowed. "Myself included. I'm not a bloody leader!" He shouted suddenly. "I'm not cut out for this!"

Anders stepped a little closer and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you kidding me? Look at what you've done here? You brought all these people together. You did that. You kept them alive. Got this place safe. And you don't have to do it alone. You have me. And Jade. Rahim and Bryce. Whenever he's not out being a reckless idiot."

"Thank you, Anders. I might take you guys up on that sometime."

"Be my guest." Anders told him with a smile. "I'm gonna head out. I'll see you soon." Brecken waved goodbye, and Anders made his way to the roof.

Rahim wasn't here today, so Anders took his spot. He sat cross legged near the edge of the building. His heart began to beat faster just being that close to the drop. He wasn't sitting for long when he heard footsteps behind him. Bryce was approaching with a big smile on his face.

"What's got you so happy?" Anders asked.

"Well, I found something that I think you're gonna like."

"Oh really?"

"Yup. But you've got to guess."

"Really?"

Bryce nodded. "Three guesses."

"An iphone six?"

"Ew. Gross. Galaxy all the way. One down."

"A Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition?"

Bryce laughed. "I wish. Here, have a hint. There's two of them."

"Walkie-Talkies." Anders said immediately.

"Damn. You had that ready didn't you?"

"It was gonna be my next guess anyway. It just happened to apply."

"Right, right. Well you're wrong." Bryce turned his head back the way he had came "Oh Nicole? Care to bring out the consolation prize?" Nicole turned the corner holding two guitars. One black with a white outline and the other with the appearance of wood. Both were beautifully maintained. They were freshly painted and strung.

"I found them in the back room of a music shop. I tuned them in the lobby. Getting back with them was a pain, but worth it."

Anders' face took on an expression of complete surprise. Which was then replaced by a smile that mirrored his brother's. He stood and walked over to his brother, and pulled him into a big hug. "You sly son of a bitch." he said through a laugh.

"I know, but you love me for it."

"I do." Anders clapped his brother on the back. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's christen these instruments."

The siblings sat down, Anders on the building edge, Bryce on an air conditioning unit next to him. Bryce played first. His pick brushing against the strings in a resounding opening chord. Anders nodded. "Good choice." And then they were off. Fingers dancing over strings and frets. Bryce opened his mouth and began to sing. His voice was soft and clean. Then Anders joined in, his voice complimenting his brother's. Finally, they reached the last chorus of the song, and their voices began to crescendo.

"If I can't live without you.

But I can't breathe when I'm with you, what am I really doin' here?

I don't wanna live without you, but God only knows what I've been through.

Cuz dying is all we're doing here."

The pair allowed the instruments to ring out and fade before erupting into a fit of laughter and high-fiving. "We still got it!" Bryce shouted with a smile. The sound of hands clapping from behind them interrupted their celebration. Nicole stood there with a smirk on her face. The fading orange sunlight illuminated her face and reflected in her eyes. Bryce had to fight to keep his jaw from hitting the floor.

"Not bad, you two. Not bad." She joined them and sat down next to Anders. "Never had you guys pegged as musicians."

Anders opened his mouth, but Bryce answered for him. "He isn't. He's an athlete. Football player. I was the musician in the family. But, when he decided to choose me over his asshole jock friends, I showed him a thing or two."

"Again, I'm sorry about them."

"And I'm sorry about Chad's nose." Bryce said with a smug smirk. That mischievous glint had reappeared in his eye.

_"Hey." His back was shoved against a locker, the cold of the metal seeping through his thin shirt."What do you think you're doing?" _

_ "Leave him alone, Chad." The girl spoke in an attempt to defuse the mountain's temper. A valiant effort, but futile. _

_ "Stay out of this." He faced Bryce. "Are you talking to my girlfriend?"_

_ Bryce's head swiveled from him to the girl. "Why, yes. I do believe I was. Good job. I'm proud of you." He raised a hand and patted Chad's shoulder, then, he turned to walk away. A meaty hand fell onto his shoulder this time, and spun him around with another on the way to meet his face. Bryce ducked and stepped away._

_ "C'mon, Chad. I didn't do anything. We were having a conversation. With words. Words. You know, they're kind of important." Another sidestepped blow. _

_ "Shut the hell up, wimp."_

_ "Wimp? Oh, hell no." Bryce lunged at Chad with his fists raised and fire in his eyes._

"And that's all I remember." Bryce said with a chuckle.

"He broke Chad's arm and wrist. He ended up with a pair of black eyes and a busted lip."

"I totally won." Bryce interrupted.

"Uh-huh. Plus, I took his wallet."

Bryce laughed loudly. "And they say you're the good brother."

"I prefer the smart one. I don't go picking fights with linebackers." He teased.

"You know I'm not good at biting my tongue. I can't help it."

"Sounds like you two have some stories." Nicole interjected. She'd been listening intently to them banter back and forth. "I'd love to hear some more when we have the time." She said her goodbye and headed back down into the apartments.

Bryce sighed and fell back. He laid down on top of the AC unit letting his legs dangle off at the knee. "I think I'm in love."

"No you're not. You just think you are." Anders told him.

"Why must you ruin these things for me?"

"Because I'm the smart one. And I think intelligently."

"Your intelligence is dumb."

"I"m not even going to justify that with a response."

"Good. Another song?"

"Hell yeah." Anders began to count off. "One two three four," and then they began again. Launching into the sea of sound their instruments produced. But it stopped abruptly.

"Uh, Anders? I broke a string."

"Well, shit."


End file.
